Monday, December 14, 2009

$2.00!

I guess it happens to all published writers at some stage but today was a moment that probably suggests moving toward the end of a publishing journey.

Today I found a copy of Nemesis Train in a bargain bin at a bookshop in Sydney—and purchased it for the princely sum of $2.

It's a kind of sad moment in the life of a book. But one can mourn the loss or celebrate the journey. (And one consolation was the presence of quite a number of other good books on the bargain tables.)

For the reader or potential reader, such "aggressive discounting" also offers the chance of a good bargain just in time for Christmas. Of course, it is the same book retailing in the same bookshop for $17.95 just a year ago.

There's always a chance an editor from a big-time publisher will find it on a bargain table and rediscover and re-publish or perhaps it will become an underground hit, developing a devoted cult following. Maybe I shouldn't have purchased and left it there for the chance of such a discovery.

P.S. Given that my book royalties for three book currently in print this year totalled $2.08, deducting my $2 investment today, leaves me with 8 cents with which to celebrate the "end" of Nemesis Train. Long live the Train!

2 comments:

Happy to pay $3 for the copy you bought for $2, given that you will dedicate that book in a fashion fitting for the 'end of the train'!!

On the other hand Nathan, finding the book for $2 closes this chapter for you so that you may start working on the new journey!! And since royalties are not even paying for a hot drink, happy to give you $5 dollars for today's book!

What if you 'auction' the title of your next book?!!! I have several!!! LOL

Awww ... sad moment. Do you know the poem "The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered"? Not so funny when it's your own book but it happens to most of us in the real world of publishing (as opposed to the dream world where you hit it big with your first novel, become a bestseller, get a movie deal ... yeah).

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About Me

Nathan Brown is a writer and editor, based just out of Melbourne, Australia. He has degrees in law, literature and English. He has also worked as a freelance writer and is working on a number of other book projects.